The Flood Hub, Geography South West and the Environment Agency have worked in collaboration to produce a case study targeted at GCSE level, focusing on flood management at Low Crosby, Cumbria. It provides an introductory overview of the area, a look at the effect of Storm Desmond on Low Crosby, the factors that contribute to flood risk and finally, the Flood Risk Management Scheme. The case study comprises of PowerPoint presentations and student worksheets which make extensive use of photos and OS map extracts.
Low Crosby is a village located about 7km north-east of Carlisle on the north bank of the River Eden.
Sited on low-lying and flat ground, the village has experienced flooding on a number of occasions in recent years, including 1968, 1995, 2005 and 2009.
In 2015, Storm Desmond resulted in serious flooding throughout the region, inundating thousands of properties and cutting off road and rail communications. Low Crosby was particularly seriously affected by the flood.
Following the 2015 flood event, a new management scheme was developed to address the issue in Low Crosby. The innovative Low Crosby flood alleviation scheme has involved lowering an existing river embankment to deliberately allow excess water to escape onto the floodplain thus reducing the threat of flooding in the village itself. This is an excellent example of a ‘soft engineering’ solution involving natural flood management.
Click on each tile below to download a PowerPoint lesson and accompanying worksheet.
